A Seat Not Taken
by always-infinity30
Summary: Waverly Earp meets Nicole Haught after a minor argument over a seating arrangement. WayHaught AU!
1. Chapter 1

**A Seat Not Taken - Chapter One**

 **Author's Note: Hello all! This is my first WayHaught fic, so please review so I know what you like/dislike. Enjoy!**

Waverly Earp knew she was going to be late to her Monday morning lecture. Not late that class would've started, but late as in only five minutes early instead of her usual fifteen. Entering the building, she shook the snow off her coat and stomped her feet on the ground, knocking the snow off. Upon entering the class, the first thing she spotted was a mysterious redhead sitting in _her_ seat. Already upset from this morning's fight with Champ, Waverly stalked over to the redheaded girl to confront her.

"Excuse me, that's my seat," Waverly stated. Chuckling slightly, the girl looked up at her, one eyebrow raised as if to say, "oh really".

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you brought it in yourself," the redhead said. Waverly ignored her joke.

"I've been sitting there since the first day. It's now December. Why are you sitting here?" Waverly asked.

"Why weren't you sitting here? Normally when I walk in, this seat is taken. But not today. Why?" Waverly was taken aback.

"I was running late. Either way, I didn't realize I'd been claiming my seat since the first day," she said.

"Well, now you know," the redhead said, smiling. Waverly looked down expectantly.

"Are you going to move?" The redhead chuckled.

"No. As you probably know already, isle seats are the best ones and there aren't too many left."

Waverly looked up at the sound of the classroom door closing. With a exasperated sigh, she plopped down in the isle seat behind the redhead. As she took out her books, one dropped onto the stair next to the other girl. Bending down to pick it up, the redhead opened the book to the front page.

"Here you go," she said, handing the book back to Waverly.

"Thanks," she said, taking the book back from the redhead.

Throughout class, Waverly found it difficult to focus on the information her professor was giving her. She kept looking down in front of her to the back of the other girl's head. There was something about the girl that interested her. She tried to recall her name from somewhere, but couldn't.

When the lecture ended, Waverly began packing up her things, wondering if the girl would say something to her. She did.

"It was nice meeting you, Waverly. I hope for my sake that you're late again next time. You must know all the secrets because that seat was the best I've ever sat in," the redhead said, smiling. Waverly smiled back slightly.

"Nice meeting you too," Waverly answered, but the redhead was already on her way out the door. Sighing, she packed up the rest of her things and walked out of the classroom, pausing to button her coat before stepping out into the cold and snow.

Trudging back to her dorm, Waverly thought of the redheaded girl. She was so mysterious, but quite confident. And very pretty. Waverly smiled just thinking about their brief encounter. _I was such a bitch_ , she thought. _I yelled at her for being in my seat. It's not my seat. I don't own the classroom. How could she have been so nice to me after I was so rude to her?_ Mentally scolding herself, Waverly entered her dorm building and walked down the hall to her room.

"Babe!" Waverly turned around to see Champ getting to his feet and running down the hall towards her.

"Not now, Champ," Waverly said, unlocking her door. "I don't want to talk."

"Why not?" Champ asked, following her into her room. Waverly threw her bag down onto the bed and turned to face her boyfriend.

"You were being a complete dick this morning just because I wouldn't put out for you," she yelled at him.

"Which is completely rational! We haven't had sex in forever!" Champ yelled back.

"That's because I had the stomach flu, Champ."

"Yeah, so I was a bit blocked up and Melissa was right down the hall, what's so wrong with that?" Champ yelled angrily.

"You don't see anything wrong with that? Anything at all?" Waverly exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"No! I have needs, Waverly!" She scoffed and turned to grab his jacket that had been hanging on her chair, throwing it at him and pushing him back towards the door.

"We're done, Champ," she said, pushing him out into the hall. After slamming the door in his face, Waverly collapsed face-down into her pillow, screaming in frustration. She lay there for a few minutes, letting the few tears fall from her eyes, but get mopped up by the fabric on her pillow. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door.

"Go away, Champ!" she yelled, throwing open the door. Only it wasn't Champ. It was the redheaded girl from her History lecture.

"Hey," the girl began uncertainly.

"Hey," Waverly said softly. "Sorry, I thought you were someone else."

"You okay? I didn't mean to pry, but I kind of overheard your argument with your boyfriend," the girl said.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I probably pissed off the entire floor."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," the girl said smiling softly. "Most people are either in class or out at lunch at this point."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." There was an awkward silence and Waverly looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say.

"I was actually heading over to the cafeteria if you wanted to come with me. I understand if you want to be alone, but in case you needed someone to talk too…" the girl trailed off, looking at Waverly for an answer. Waverly smiled.

"I'd love to. Let me just grab my coat."

The two walked quickly to the cafeteria and grabbed their buffet lunches. They sat together at a table for two by the window looking out onto the lawn.

"So you live in Baker too?" Waverly asked. The girl nodded.

"Yeah, I transferred here in the beginning of November and all the rooms they had were singles."

"I love singles. You get so much more privacy with it. Plus you don't have to worry about stupid arguments with your roommate…only your boyfriend," Waverly said, frowning at the thought of her fight with Champ.

"D'you want to talk about it?" the girl asked, putting her hand on Waverly's. Waverly looked up and smiled.

"Not really. I'd rather talk about something else."

"Okay, like what?" the girl asked. Waverly smiled.

"For starters, what's your name?" The pair burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, I guess I never properly introduced myself. I'm Nicole. Nicole Haught."


	2. Chapter 2

**A Seat Not Taken - Chapter Two**

 **Author's Note: Here is Chapter Two of** ** _A Seat Not Taken._** **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Wynonna Earp or any of the characters. All mistakes are mine!**

The next morning, Waverly woke early and made her way down to the dining hall for breakfast. After getting her plate of eggs and toast, she looked around for a place to sit. There were many empty tables, but she noticed her friend Doc sitting by himself near the window. She walked over, set her tray down, and plopped into the seat across from him.

"Morning, Doc!" she said cheerfully. Doc grumbled a reply back and tipped his hat to one side to block the sunlight. "Long night?"

"Shouldn't have had so much to drink," Doc said. "I thought that I'd gotten immune to the effects after so many years." Waverly laughed.

"I'm not sure that's how alcohol works, Doc," she said.

Waverly met Doc in one of her English classes back in September. She found his clothing and style very interesting and struck up a conversation with him. It turns out his real name was John Henry Holliday, but he went by Doc Holliday ever since he left home. He was 40 years old but had the appearance he could've been from the 1920s due to his fashion sense.

"Got any plans for the upcoming break?" Waverly asked. Doc shrugged.

"Probably just more drinking. All my family is long gone. Contrary to what most believe with my last name, I don't do much with holidays," he answered. Waverly laughed.

"It must get tiring, having every day with you be a holiday!" Waverly exclaimed, laughing at her own joke. Giving her half a smile, Doc stood up.

"Well, Miss Waverly, I must be getting on my way now. I think it would be best for me to lie down and give my head a rest. Give my best to your sister when you see her next week." Tipping his hat, Doc left, leaving Waverly sitting alone eating her breakfast. As she continued eating, her phone chimed.

 _Wynonna: Hey Wave something came up so I can't come get you on Friday._

 _Waverly: Why? :( and now how am I going to get home?_

 _Wynonna: :/ I'm sorry, Waves, but something came up with work and I can't get out of it. Can you get a ride from someone or catch a bus?_

 _Waverly: I can try._

 _Wynonna: I'm really sorry, Waves. Let me know when you find a ride!_

Waverly sighed and leaned back in her chair, staring at the edge of the table. Winter break started at the end of the week and she didn't have a ride. _Of course,_ she thought. _Leave it to Wynonna to ditch me days before winter break starts._ Her thoughts were interrupted by a redhead coming into her view and sliding into the seat across from her.

"Hey! How's it going?" Nicole asked cheerfully. Waverly smiled and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Good I guess! How's it going with you?"

"Good! I just finished my sociology final and I feel pretty good about it," Nicole said. Waverly looked at the time.

"You took that fairly quickly," Waverly said, impressed. "I'm always a slow test-taker."

"I guess timed tests are never your thing then," Nicole said. Waverly laughed.

"Oh, they're the death of me!"

There was a momentary pause as Nicole ate more of her breakfast. Waverly couldn't help but stare at the redhead in front of her, especially her glorious jawline that clenched every time she took a bite…

"Waverly?"

"Huh?"

"I asked you what your plans were for winter break," Nicole repeated. Waverly blushed.

"Oh! Well, my sister, Wynonna, was supposed to pick me up on Friday, but something came up at work, so now she can't."

"Oh, I'm sorry! How are you going to get home?" Waverly shrugged.

"I'm not sure; I guess try to get a ride from someone who has a car," she said. "Know anyone who is heading north?"

"Well I am," Nicole said. "I just got an internship at the police station in a town called Purgatory up in Canada. I have a car and I'd be happy to drive you! Where are you heading?" Waverly stared at Nicole for a minute.

"Purgatory?" Waverly asked, not sure if she'd heard correctly.

"I know, of all things to name a town, they named it Purgatory," Nicole said, chuckling slightly. Waverly giggled.

"I live in Purgatory! Well, I grew up there!" Waverly exclaimed. Nicole raised her eyebrows.

"You grew up in a town called Purgatory? And you aren't scarred for life?" Nicole asked, laughing. "Man, I thought you were alright!" Waverly laughed.

"Purgatory is great! I mean, it has its folks who aren't so nice, but it's nice and small and fairly homey," she said. Nicole smiled.

"Well, I guess you'll have to tell me all about this nice, small, and fairly homey town of yours on our drive there!"

"For real? You'll drive me there?" Waverly exclaimed. Nicole laughed.

"Sure! I mean, we are going to the same place," she said, smiling. "Plus, it'll be a great way to get to know each other better." Waverly blushed and smiled, thinking that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get to know the still-mysterious redheaded girl a little bit better.


	3. Chapter 3

**A Seat Not Taken - Chapter Three**

 **Author's Note: Hello! Thank you for all the support you've given me with this story! I'm excited to continue it! I just wanted to mention that I do not include revenants in this story because it would just complicate the plot. Also, Willa is mentioned in this chapter and possibly in later chapters, but will not be making an appearance (sadly) [that was sarcasm]. Honestly, at this point in the show, I can't stand her character. So, she will not be coming into this story. Without further ado, enjoy chapter three! (that would've been cool if it had been chapter two - it would've rhymed!)**

Waverly breathed a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the science building on Friday afternoon. She had just taken her last final and was ready to head home. But first, she would get to spend five plus hours in the car with Nicole Haught. Waverly grinned and walked toward her dorm building with a spring in her step.

Things had changed a lot since their first meeting in their history lecture. Waverly still felt guilty about being so rude, but at least Nicole thought it was funny. The two grew fairly close in this past week, like eating meals together and hanging out in each others' dorms. Waverly thought that there had also been some flirting involved, but she wasn't positive. She tried to flirt a bit too, but most of the time her words just came out as an incoherent sentence.

As Waverly walked past Nicole's dorm room, she peeked her head in, as the door had been open. She spotted Nicole sleeping on her bed, book resting on her chest moving up and down with her steady breathing. Waverly smiled and walked over to the bed, gently setting her bag down on the floor. Carefully, she took the book from Nicole's chest and set it on her desk, making sure to mark the page she was on. She then took the blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed and gently draped it over Nicole's body. She took one last look at the sleeping figure before closing the door behind her and walking into her own dorm room.

Luckily, Waverly had been smart and had packed up clothes to take home the night before. She quickly changed into an outfit that was comfortable, yet fashionable, and made her butt look good. Grinning, she zipped up her suitcase and laced up her shoes before brushing her teeth and fixing her hair. Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. Waverly eagerly rushed over, but quickly composed herself before opening the door. It was Nicole, who had her suitcase in one hand and her purse in the other.

"Hey!" Nicole exclaimed. "You almost ready?" Waverly grinned.

"Yep! I'm all set; just let me grab my stuff."

The two walked outside and down the street for a couple blocks to the parking lot where many student's kept their cars. Waverly followed Nicole to a black Jeep parked at the end of a row. She laughed before putting her stuff in the back next to Nicole's.

"What?" Nicole asked.

"Nothing, it's just…I figured you'd have a Jeep!" Waverly replied, still chuckling slightly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nicole answered, grinning.

"Nothing! It suits you though," Waverly said, staring at Nicole. She imagined her driving down the highway, music blaring out of the radio, wind whipping through her hair, the pair holding hands between them…Waverly shook her head to clear her thoughts before getting into the passenger's seat. _Now is not the time for daydreams,_ she thought. _This is time that I get to spend with Nicole alone and try to get to know her better and on a deeper level._

"So what kind of music do you normally listen to?" Nicole asked as they drove out of campus.

"I'm more of an any type of music gal. I work well with country, rock, pop, but my specialty is rap," Waverly said. Nicole laughed and pressed a button on her dashboard.

"Rap it is!"

For a while they listened to the humorous rap lyrics of Wiz Khalifa and Afroman. Each time a sexual lyric came on (which was more often than not), Waverly would blush and look out the window, avoiding eye contact with Nicole as she sang every lyric. After close to an hour of rap, they switched to a softer country and began talking more about their personal lives.

"I'm not exactly sure what I want to do when I leave college," Waverly said thoughtfully. "Something with history because I love researching new topics and getting information that I never would've known about otherwise. What about you?"

"I've always wanted to be a cop," Nicole said with a laugh. "Not exactly everyone's favorite people, but my dad was a sheriff in the small town that I grew up in. Not much happened, but he made sure to always know everyone's name, what they liked, what they do for a living, things like that. So whenever he was in their neighborhood or saw them on the sidewalk, he'd be the kind, friendly sheriff that always stopped to chat. I'd like to live up to his legacy someday and be a good officer just like him." Waverly stared at the redhead for a moment and smiled.

"That's a great goal," she said. "I'm sure your dad can't wait to see you become a police officer. He'll be so proud of you!" Nicole did't say anything. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just, I haven't talked to my dad in three years," Nicole said quietly.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry, Nicole! I had no idea," Waverly replied, putting her hand on Nicole's thigh.

"It's okay. I don't talk about it a lot. It's just kind of that thing that you never want to think about, but it's all you think about sometimes," Nicole said, giving Waverly a half-smile.

"I know what you mean," Waverly said, looking down at her lap. The image of her father being dragged into the woods flashed in her eyes and she quickly pulled away from Nicole.

"Are you okay?" Nicole asked, concerned. Waverly closed her eyes and nodded. _Stop thinking about that, Waverly,_ she thought.

"Yeah," Waverly said. "I…when I was six, I had to watch my dad and sister get dragged away by a pack of wolves. I hate thinking about it, but sometimes I see it so clearly in my head and I just can't get it out." This time, it was Nicole's hand that rested on Waverly's thigh.

"Waverly," Nicole said. "I'm so sorry." Waverly smiled in thanks. The two quieted for a minute, but Nicole didn't remove her hand. Waverly glanced down at it and smiled, thinking to herself that she quite liked having Nicole's hand there. _Maybe a bit higher and toward the middle more too,_ she thought before shaking her head once more and clearing her throat.

"Uh, so is it just you for the holidays?" Waverly asked quickly. Nicole, hearing Waverly clear her throat, took her hand away before answering.

"Yeah, it's just me. My sister and her family are out of town, plus I'll be working at the Purgatory police department, so it kind of works out this way," she said.

"You'll have to come over for Christmas dinner! Gus, who is kind of like my adopted mom, always cooks Wynonna and I holiday meals and they're delicious," Waverly said excitedly. Nicole laughed.

"It sounds amazing," she said. "I'd love to eat dinner with you." Waverly blushed slightly and smiled.

The two rode on for several hours, talking and joking. They stopped briefly after crossing the border into Canada for a quick dinner, then drove on. About an hour outside of Purgatory, Waverly fell asleep, mouth open slightly and breathing lightly. Nicole looked down at the sleeping girl next to her and smiled, thinking that Purgatory wouldn't be so bad as long as she had Waverly there too.


	4. Chapter 4

**A Seat Not Taken - Chapter Four**

The next morning, Waverly awoke in a soft, warm bed that reminded her of home in Purgatory. She opened her eyes and sat straight up to look around. Laughing, she realized that's exactly where she was. She was in her bedroom in Purgatory. Waverly quickly dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen to see Wynonna eating a bowl of cereal at the table.

"Morning, sleepyhead!" Wynonna called, standing to hug her younger sister. "I've missed you!" Waverly laughed and hugged her sister back.

"I've missed you too! It feels like forever since we last saw each other," she said, looking at Wynonna up and down. "Something is different about you…" Wynonna laughed.

"I dyed my hair darker brown," she said, walking over to pour her sister a bowl of cereal. "Not that much different, but still just enough."

"Well, it looks good," Waverly said happily and sat down next to her sister for breakfast. "Hey, how'd I get home last night?"

"Your friend dropped you off. She said she had to get settled into her new place and had to work this morning, so she left after she put you to bed," Wynonna said. Waverly looked at her sister.

"What do you mean 'she put me to bed'?" she asked.

"Well, I guess you'd been asleep for a while, so she carried you into the house and upstairs to bed," Wynonna said. "You guys must be pretty good friends. I'm glad though; that means you can stop hanging out with that idiot, Champ."

"Champ and I broke up," Waverly said absentmindedly. Wynonna cheered.

"Thank God! You'll can do so much better than him," she said. "Good for you!"

Waverly excused herself and went upstairs to get ready for the day. After locking herself in the bathroom, she leaned against the counter and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. _She carried me upstairs and put me in bed. She's just so caring and gentle. I never knew someone could be like that,_ she thought to herself, picturing Champ and how rude and inconsiderate he was. Deciding to do something rather rash, Waverly brushed her teeth and grabbed her purse before running downstairs, yelling a hurried goodbye to Wynonna, and rushing to their car. Today, she, Waverly Earp, would ask a girl out on a date.

—

Nicole signed as she sat at the front desk filling out paperwork. _Of course,_ she thought. _Of course I would be stuck doing paperwork on my first day at work._ She glanced at the clock and groaned inwardly at the fact that it was only 10:30 and she was already wishing for it to be 5 o'clock so she could go home.

"Haught," a gruff voice called. Nicole quickly scrambled to her feet and entered the sheriff's office.

"Yes, Sheriff Nedley?" she asked, standing in the doorway.

"How are you liking the job so far?" Nedley asked.

"It's alright," Nicole answered. "There isn't really much to do, but I know it's also just my first day."

"That's the attitude I wanted to see! I need someone to work the night shift, so I hope you're up for the task," Nedley said, eyeing the woman. Nicole's heart sank, but she smiled outwardly.

"Sounds great, sheriff," she said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Good," Nedley said, looking back down at his computer. "Now back to work." Closing the door on her way out, Nicole walked back to her seat at the front desk and collapsed into the chair, leaning back against the cushion.

"Looks like someone's enjoying their first day of work," a voice said. Nicole spun around to see Waverly poking her head in the doorway. "How's it going?"

"Ugh, it's terrible," Nicole groaned, "but, I'm glad you're here now!" Waverly laughed and jumped up to sit on the desk, then turned to face Nicole.

"I wanted to ask you something," she began. Nicole smiled. "I was wondering if you'd like to go get dinner tonight with me." Nicole's smiled widened, then quickly faded to a frown.

"Dammit, Nedley," she muttered, running a hand through her hair.

"It's okay, I understand," Waverly said quietly, visually upset and already regretting even stopping by.

"No it's not you!" Nicole exclaimed, grabbing onto Waverly's leg that rested beside her. "It's just, Sheriff Nedley just told me that I was working the night shift tonight. I'm so sorry, Wave! I'd love to another time though!" Waverly smiled.

"Oh, okay, sure," she said brightly. "We can talk more about it later; you probably have a lot to do." Nicole snorted.

"Nope, I'm not doing anything. And it'll be the same tonight; we just always need to have a police officer in the office 24/7," Nicole said. Waverly's eyes lit up.

"What if I bring the date to you? I could bring a picnic and we could eat here, since you can't leave. And that way I could keep you company too!" Waverly exclaimed. Nicole smiled.

"You're asking me out on a…date?" she asked. Waverly froze and stared at Nicole.

"…umm, yeah, well, that's what I was kind of hoping for…" Nicole grinned.

"I'd love to go on a date with you, Waverly Earp," she said graciously. "What time should I be expecting you?" Waverly thought for a moment.

"What time will everyone be gone?" Nicole shrugged.

"I'm not entirely sure," she said. "Probably eight to be on the safe side. I hope you don't mind eating a late dinner." Waverly smirked and stood up to leave, but leaned over to whisper something in Nicole's ear.

"Don't worry," she murmured, "there's only one thing I have to care about being late and that's not something the two of us need to worry about." Only after catching a glimpse of Nicole's eyes grow wide and the corner of her mouth turn upwards, Waverly turned and sauntered out of the police station, giddy with excitement about her plans for the night.

Back inside, Nicole caught her breath and leaned back in her chair, grinning to herself. She quickly checked the time and calculated the minutes until her lunch break. She'd have one hour to go get everything she needed for tonight. Officer Haught had herself a date.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Seat Not Taken - Chapter Five**

 **Author's Note: Thank you all for the amazing reviews and comments on this fic! I can't believe how much people are enjoying it, but it only makes me want to write more! I hope you keep reading and commenting because I do take critiques into consideration when writing. With that, enjoy chapter five!**

Ever since her racy encounter with Nicole earlier, Waverly could not stop thinking about their date tonight. She knew that it would have to be something simple, but cute enough to be memorable. Waverly was glad she had to go to work at Shorty's, the popular saloon in town, so she could take her mind off of her plans for tonight. After getting off of work and driving to the grocery store, Waverly went back to the house to begin getting ready for the date.

Always a planner, Waverly wrote down a list of everything that she needed to do to get ready. She started with the simplest task, which was deciding on her outfit. She wanted something comfortable and not too fancy, but suggestive enough to imply that this was not a date as friends. _Well duh, Waverly,_ she thought to herself. _You asked her out on a_ date _. Plus, what else would she expect when you leave her with 'there's only one thing I have to care about being late and that's not something the two of us need to worry about'. That's what happens when you speak before you think._

Finally, she decided on a low-cut, dark green long-sleeve shirt with black jeans that made her butt look good. She folded both pieces of clothing up and lay them on the edge of her bed, topping it off with her black flats. Satisfied, Waverly consulted the to-do list and decided to shower before doing her hair. She grabbed a towel a robe and walked into the bathroom, setting her stuff down on the counter. Realizing she needed to pee, Waverly pulled down her pants and sat on the toilet.

"Shit," she hissed, seeing the dark red stain on her grey panties. Upset, yet partially relieved, Waverly finished up, then hopped into the shower. She took her time washing her hair and body, making sure all of the good-smelling shower products left as much of a fragrance behind as possible. When she was finished, she slipped on her robe and began drying her hair, making sure to not dry it completely so that it naturally curls into beautiful waves. She gave her hair one last look before glancing at her list to see her next task. Smiling, she got to work.

First, she washed off the strawberries and laid them all out on a sheet of wax paper. After melting the chocolate, Waverly dipped each of the strawberries into the melted mass of chocolate and swirled them around before laying them back down on the wax paper. Once she was finished, she put them in the refrigerator and began preparing the rest of the meal. After she was done, she made a note to herself to not forget the strawberries, then went back upstairs to put on light makeup. Waverly had never been one for too much makeup; that had been more of Wynonna's thing back in high school. She brushed on some foundation and some light blush before applying black mascara to her eyelashes and pencil eyeliner to her eyelids. She topped it off with a neutral eyeshadow and her favorite strawberry lipgloss. Happy with how it turned out, Waverly checked the time and panicked slightly when she saw it read 7:30. Her heart began to beat faster as the nerves began to set in once more. She checked her list one last time before going to retrieve the chocolate-covered strawberries from the refrigerator. Waverly checked the clock, thought to herself, _screw it_ , then grabbed her purse and picnic basket for the date and left.

She reached the police department ten minutes early, but Waverly didn't care. She took her time making sure her hair was in the right place and she had everything she needed before heading towards the police department's door. Taking a deep breath, she entered and found Nicole sitting alone at the front desk, no one else in the office.

"Uh, h-hey," Waverly announced, wincing at her voice as it echoed around the empty bullpen. Nicole jumped slightly before looking up and grinning.

"Hey yourself," she said, leaning back in her chair. Waverly could feel Nicole's eyes raking her body up and down as she took in her appearance.

"Are we alone?" Waverly asked, breaking the brief silence. Nicole smiled and nodded.

"Yep, it's just you and me," she said. "That's what you wanted, right?" Waverly nodded eagerly, then bit her lip, unsure of what to do next. "What's that you have with you?" Waver;y looked down and held up the picnic basket she'd brought.

"It's for our…umm…date," she said nervously. "I brought a picnic! There's a blanket inside so we can spread out on the floor and…" she trailed off at the sight of the corner of Nicole's mouth lifting upwards as she tried to suppress a smile.

"I love it," she said, standing to help Waverly set up the picnic. "It's a wonderful idea for a date." Waverly blushed and the pair spread out the blanket behind the front desk, giving themselves a bit of privacy in the event anyone walked in. Waverly sat down with her back resting against the desk and began unpacking the picnic basket. She first took out the sparkling cider and glasses to make sure they weren't damaged. She set them down and took out the rest of the food: grapes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese and crackers, and finally, the chocolate covered strawberries.

"You made chocolate covered strawberries!" Nicole exclaimed. "They're my favorite dessert ever!" Waverly laughed, relieved that she packed something that Nicole enjoyed. She poured out cider into the two glasses, handing one to Nicole before holding it up in the air.

"To a wonderful night," Waverly said, unsure of what the policy of toasts was for first dates. Nicole smiled.

"With a wonderful girl, " she added before clinking her glass with Waverly's. The two sipped the cider for a moment, then dug into the picnic and began eating. "You cut the crusts off of the sandwiches too?" Waverly nodded. "God, you're amazing, Waverly."

Waverly blushed and continued eating her food, watching as Nicole helped herself to the food that was laid out on the picnic blanket. After a few minutes of silent eating, Waverly spoke up.

"So how was the rest of your day?"

"It went better since I had something to look forward to," Nicole said, smiling. "But it was still so boring."

"Hopefully that's just because it was your first day," Waverly said, trying to stay positive. "Maybe soon you'll get to go out on patrol and stuff. You can catch some bad guys and handcuff them!"

"Who knows," Nicole answered, a slight change in tone made Waverly look up. "Bad guys aren't the only ones I can handcuff." Waverly's eyes widened and she cleared her throat.

"Uh, well, uh, hopefully you don't have to catch many, uh, bad guys," Waverly began, but trailed off, not knowing where she was going with her sentence. Nicole drained the rest of her glass and poured some more.

"How was the rest of your day?" she asked, obviously steering the conversation in a different direction after Waverly's reaction.

"Pretty good," Waverly said. "I worked for a bit, then got ready for tonight."

"Where do you work?"

"I work at Shorty's. It's the saloon downtown." Nicole nodded.

"I think we passed it coming into town last night," she said. Waverly smiled guiltily.

"About that, I'm sorry I fell asleep," she said. "You drove the entire time; you must've been exhausted and I just went to sleep without even thinking that you might need a rest too…"

"Waverly, it's okay," Nicole interrupted, scooting closer to her. "I could tell you needed to sleep. Plus, it was no biggie anyway. I took a nap before we left and I had the GPS telling me where to go. I was wide awake." Waverly still felt a bit guilty, so Nicole had an idea.

"Let's play a game," she said, grabbing the bag of grapes. "We'll toss each other a grape and if you catch it in your mouth, you get to ask the other a question. If you miss, you get to answer a question. This way we get to know more about each other." Waverly smiled and nodded, scooting away from the desk to prepare to catch the grapes.

"I'll go first," she said, opening her mouth wide. Nicole laughed and tossed a grape up in the air. It hit Waverly on the nose and bounced onto the floor. Waverly laughed and looked at Nicole. "I guess you get to ask me a question now."

"When is your birthday?" Waverly chuckled.

"Are these the kinds of questions we ask?" Nicole laughed.

"No, it's just a warm up. But, I don't actually know your birthday, so…"

"May 27th," Waverly answered. "What about you?"

"Ah, excuse me, but you didn't catch the grape, now did you," Nicole joked.

"I thought you said this was a warm up," Waverly countered. Nicole laughed.

"January 5th," she said, grabbing another grape.

"That's coming up!" Waverly exclaimed. "We should do something to celebrate! How old will you be turning?" Nicole grinned.

"21," she said, taking an imaginary shot in the air. Waverly laughed.

"Oh we'll definitely have to do something to celebrate!" Waverly took another grape and tossed it into the air. With tremendous accuracy, Nicole grabbed it out of the air with her mouth and swallowed it.

"Yes!" she exclaimed triumphantly. "Alright, let's see. Who was your first crush?" Waverly snorted.

"Tommy Butcher, second grade," she answered. "He sat next to me in class and he was the cutest boy in the grade. I always wanted to be work partners, but he never did." Nicole stuck out her bottom lip.

"Aww, that's adorable!" Waverly laughed, then opened her mouth in anticipation for the grape. Nicole let it fly and, to their surprise, the grape landed in Waverly's mouth.

"Finally!" she cheered. Waverly looked at Nicole and squinted her eyes, making it seem like she was searching for a question to ask. "Describe your most recent first kiss."

"That's not exactly a question," Nicole pointed out.

"Whatever, just answer it," Waverly said, smiling.

"Okay, well it was last April, just before finals began in some of my classes. I was out at a party and this girl I liked was there. We'd been casually flirting for months, but she told me she wasn't interested. But, she always kept coming back for more. Finally, she kissed me in the bathroom at the party," Nicole described. Waverly frowned.

"Are you guys dating?" Nicole burst out laughing.

"I don't think I would've agreed to this date if we were," she said. "No, the next morning, she told me that it was just because of all the alcohol she had. Lame excuse if you ask me."

"Have you met anyone since?" Waverly asked, softly. Nicole looked at her and smiled.

"I have, in fact," she said. "You may know her. She's smart, funny, super attractive, and so much fun to be around. But my absolute favorite thing about her would have to be her smile; it lights up the room." Nicole paused. "It wasn't always that bright, though. It was hidden for a bit when I first met her. It's back now and I would do anything to make sure that smile never gets hidden again." Waverly's heart stopped.

"And who might this person be?" she whispered, hoping Nicole would say what she thought she was alluding to. Nicole smiled.

"It's you, Waverly," she said. Nicole leaned toward Waverly and slightly tilted her head. Waverly's eyes fluttered shut as she leaned in and tilted her head to the side. Their lips met and Waverly's heart felt like it was bursting with a million different feelings: happiness, fear, lust. Her thoughts swirled around until she could only think of one thing: _This feels so right_. Nicole smiled into the kiss and slowly brought her hand up to cup Waverly's cheek. Waverly's hand found Nicole's waist and gently pulled her into Waverly's embrace. Nicole signed and brought her other hand to cup Waverly's other cheek, deepening the kiss. Waverly gasped as she felt Nicole's teeth graze her lip as she took Waverly's bottom lip between her own. Waverly matched Nicole's pace and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her in closer.

The two continued to kiss, occasionally coming up for air only to fall back into each other's embrace. Waverly then made a bold move; she slipped her tongue in between Nicole's lips and began to explore her mouth. Nicole smiled and did the same and soon the two were into a full blown make-out session. They battled for dominance before Nicole gently lay Waverly down on the blanket, easing her body on top of the brunette's. Waverly's core ached for friction as her hands found Nicole's cheeks and Nicole gripped Waverly's waist. As things began to get even more heated, Nicole's hands slowly slid under Waverly's shirt, ghosting over her toned stomach. Waverly gasped and arched her back up into Nicole's body. Nicole explored underneath Waverly's shirt more and began kissing her way to the her neck, where she began kissing and sucking at her pulse point. Waverly groaned and dug her nails into Nicole's back, arching up again to feel Nicole's body more. Nicole thumbed the bottom of Waverly's shirt and without a word, Waverly nodded and Nicole slipped the shirt over her head and onto the floor.

"Shit," Nicole gasped at the sight of Waverly's fit body. Waverly looked up into Nicole's eyes, which were dark with lust. She was sure it was reflected in her eyes as well. "Wave, a-are you sure?" Waverly bit her lip, then nodded. Nicole stopped and sat up.

"Wave, I don't want to do something you're not ready for. This is new for you, right?" Waverly nodded. "I want to go at your own pace. Whatever you say goes. If you want to go further, by all means, I'm in. But if you want to take things slow, I'm up for that too." Waverly let out a breath and sat up as well.

"I want this, Nicole," she said honestly. "I don't think I've ever been more turned on in my life. But, I do want to take this slow. So, maybe we can save some…other things for a later time. Also, I'm on my period, so I don't think that would help at all." Nicole chuckled.

"No, I don't think that would work out well," she said. "It's a good thing though; it's a sign that we should take things slow." Waverly smiled at her and leaned back on her hands.

"Fuck, that felt good though," she admitted sheepishly. Nicole grinned.

"It felt good for me too," she said honestly. Waverly smiled at her and scooted over towards the desk and closer to her. Nicole leaned back against the desk and pulled Waverly with her, letting her lean up against her body to relax. "We'll take our time with this. It'll be worth it, I promise." She bent her head down and softly kissed the top of Waverly's head before relaxing against the desk. Waverly smiled and leaned back into Nicole's warm body, wishing that her heart would stop pounding so much.


	6. Chapter 6

**A Seat Not Taken - Chapter Six**

 **Author's Note: Edited after a mistake was noted. That was completely my fault and will make sure that doesn't happen again! Huge shoutout to the user who spotted my error in the dialogue between Nicole and Wynonna!**

The next morning, Waverly woke up with a smile on her face. She immediately thought of last night and how her romantic evening with Nicole played out. She was glad that they agreed to take things slow; it was all overwhelming for her to adjust to, but she was happy. Waverly smiled even wider just thinking those words in her head. She was happier than she had been in a long time. Champ never made her feel this happy and this safe before. With Nicole, it was somehow easy.

Rolling over in bed, Waverly looked at her phone and was disappointed to see that there were no texts from Nicole. She then remembered that Nicole was on the night shift, so she probably went straight to bed at 6 this morning. Deciding to get some Christmas shopping done, Waverly got out of bed, dressed, then walked downstairs to the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. She stopped in the doorway, gazing wide-eyed at the African American man sitting at the kitchen table, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

"Umm, excuse me," Waverly said finally. "Who the hell are you?" The man jumped and looked up from the newspaper he'd been reading.

"Shit," he yelped, desperately trying to shield his almost naked body from Waverly. "Wynonna!" There was a pounding on the stairs as the older Earp sister charged down the stairs, wielding her gun.

"What? What happened?" Wynonna yelled, brandishing the gun around the room. Waverly took in her sister's appearance; she was only clad in a black bra and matching panties.

"Wynonna!" Waverly shrieked, covering her eyes with her hands. "Put some clothes on!" She paused. "Both of you!"

"Wave, it's okay," Wynonna said gently, pulling Waverly's hands away from her eyes. "It's not like you've never seen this before." Waverly gulped, thinking back to last night, then settled back into the corner.

"Can someone please explain what is going on?" she finally said. Wynonna rolled her eyes.

"We're all adults here, Wave. I think you know what's going on." Waverly glared at her sister.

"How do you guys even know each other?" Waverly questioned. Wynonna looked at the man who looked back at her uneasily.

"We…work together," Wynonna said finally. Waverly narrowed her eyes.

"What's your name?" she asked, nodding to the man, who cleared his throat.

"My name is Xavier Dolls," he said holding out his hand. Waverly eyed it, but did't move to shake it.

"No offense, but I'm not shaking your hand based on the state you two are in," she said, looking between the man and her sister. The man, Dolls, pulled his hand back and stood up, making sure to keep most of his body covered with the newspaper.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get dressed," he said, darting up the stairs. Waverly eyed her sister until she heard the bedroom door close upstairs.

"You're sleeping with your boss?" she exclaimed. Wynonna grimaced.

"I didn't think you'd remember me talking about him." Waverly scoffed.

"He's all you talked about for a solid two weeks; all you did was complain about him. Well, I guess I found the reason why you've stopped complaining about him." Wynonna groaned.

"Why are you so mad about this? I don't need to get your approval to date someone; you sure never listened to me about Champ!" she said.

"I could't care less who you date, Wynonna!" Waverly exclaimed. "I just don't understand why you wouldn't tell me!" Wynonna sighed and slid into the Dolls' unoccupied seat, patting the chair next to her.

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd just broken up with Champ and I thought you were still upset about it," Wynonna admitted. "Plus, I'm sure we've both had relationships that we haven't divulged to each other." Waverly froze, thinking about last night for the third time that morning.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Waverly said uneasily.

"Also, it's actually kind of recent too," Wynonna said. "I wasn't sure where it was going at first."

Waverly nodded and looked down at the table. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She wasn't sure where her…thing with Nicole was going. She wasn't even sure if she could say they were dating. They'd only been on one date, so it was probably too soon for that.

"I'm going Christmas shopping," Waverly said, breaking the silence. "Any requests?" Wynonna thought for a minute.

"A hug from my baby sister?" Waverly smiled and looked over at Wynonna.

"You don't have to wait until christmas for that," Waverly said, leaning over and wrapping her older sister in a big hug. The Earp sisters hugged each other for quite some time, only to be interrupted by Dolls entering the kitchen, this time fully clothed.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Wynonna, there is an emergency at work. We gotta go," he said, grabbing his coat from the hook by the door. Wynonna nodded and ran upstairs to get dressed.

"I'm sorry about the way you found out about us," Dolls said after Wynonna left. "That was no way to be introduced." Waverly shrugged and stood up.

"It's okay, I overreacted anyway," she said, holding out her hand. "It was nice meeting you, Xavier." Dolls shook her hand.

"You can call me by my last name, Dolls," he corrected. "Everyone does." Waverly frowned.

"Would you rather me call you by your first name?" she asked. Dolls shook his head.

"Dolls is fine, thank you." Waverly nodded and grabbed her coat.

"Well, nice to meet you, Dolls," she said. "I'm sure I'll see you around again." She opened the door and yelped. There at the door was Nicole, her arm raised as if she had been about to knock on the door. Nicole shrieked and jumped back, startled.

"Nicole!" Waverly exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Nicole smiled.

"I came to see what you were up to," she said. Movement in the corner caught her eye and she looked up.

"Hey Nicole! Good to see you again!" Wynonna had returned from upstairs and walked into the doorway behind Waverly.

"Nice seeing you again too!," she said. Wynonna nodded once again and retreated back into the house to grab her purse. Nicole smiled instantly at Waverly and inched closer to her, grabbing onto her hand. Waverly grinned and ran a hand through her hair flirtatiously. Gazing down at Waverly, Nicole leaned her head to the side for a kiss, but pulled back when more movement caught her eye from behind Waverly. Dolls moved into her sight, who raised his eyebrows at the sight of the two girls. Nicole cleared her throat and let go of Waverly's hand, who turned around and inched away from Nicole at the sight of Dolls.

"Umm, we should probably go shopping now," Waverly said to no one in particular before pulling on her coat and stepping outside, shutting the door behind her. The two didn't say anything until they were in Nicole's Jeep and pulling out of the long driveway.

"Sorry about that," Nicole said, reaching a hand over to rest on Waverly's leg. "I didn't realize Dolls was there." Waverly frowned.

"You know him?" Nicole nodded.

"I met him yesterday. He works at the police station with your sister. Well, he's a U.S. Marshall, but they're using the police station as their headquarters.

"Why?" Waverly asked. Nicole shrugged.

"No idea. They're always very secretive about what goes on in their back corner of the station."

"Probably making out half the time," Waverly scoffed. Nicole chuckled.

"They're cute together." She paused. "They are together, right?" Waverly laughed sarcastically.

"Yep! I found out this morning when I walked downstairs and saw Dolls sitting at the table in only a pair of boxers."

"Eww," Nicole said, scrunching up her nose in disgust. "That must've been awful." Waverly nodded.

"So where exactly are you taking me?" she asked.

"I thought you said something about shopping," Nicole said. "I do have to warn you, I hate shopping." Waverly laughed and pointed at a side road coming up.

"Turn there," she instructed. "Don't worry, it'll be quick. It's Christmas shopping."

It turns out that Christmas shopping took four hours. The lines were crazy long due to the rush for last minute Christmas gifts and Waverly was not able to make up her mind. Nicole trudged along, Waverly practically dragging her into every store and making her shop.

"Wave," Nicole whined when she looked at her watch and saw it read 1 o'clock. "Can we take a break for lunch? I'm starving." Waverly laughed and paid for the sweater she was buying for Wynonna and grabbed onto Nicole's arm.

"Alright, let's go get lunch."

They ended up eating at the local diner in the next town over. Waverly ordered two burgers for the pair and a large milkshake to share. Once the food came, they ate in silence, too busy with the burgers and fries, as well as their large appetites. Finally, Waverly broke the silence.

"Are we dating?" she blurted out. Nicole stopped eating and looked at Waverly.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Do you want to be?"

"Kind of," Waverly said sheepishly. "I want to be able to call you my girlfriend and hold your hand and, well, date you." Nicole gazed, awestruck at the girl sitting across from her. She smiled and reached for Waverly's hand.

"I want to do all those things too," she said, smiling. "So, Waverly Earp, will you be my girlfriend?" Waverly giggled and smiled.

"I would love to."


	7. Chapter 7

**A Seat Not Taken - Chapter Seven**

 **Author's Note: I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who has been reading this fic! I am so happy with how many people are enjoying it and keep coming back for more chapters! The reason I write is for all of you, so as long as you're happy, I'm happy!**

 **Talk about a cliffhanger though on the season finale! I sure wasn't expecting that! The Wayhaught was adorable though; Waverly loves Nicole! And I'm sure Nicole loves Waverly too-she was just really surprised that Waverly said it, plus there was the obvious gun pointed at her, but, you know, love is real! Anyway, enjoy chapter 7!**

 **Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Wynonna Earp. Otherwise, it would've been renewed a LONG time ago!**

Christmas came a lot faster than Waverly cared to admit. Waverly was working overtime at Shorty's due to the increase in customers coming in to enjoy the eggnog and festive spirits of the holidays. Most days, she went home reeking of alcohol and sweat, only to fall asleep on the couch without showering. Wynonna would help out sometimes by waking her up, complaining about her stench, but most of the time, Wynonna was one of the ones enjoying the eggnog.

Waverly hadn't spent much time with Nicole either, due to Nicole's work hours and overtime shifts. Nicole was spending many days breaking up bar fights that got out of hand and responding to noise complains, mostly due to relatives arguing about old scores that were never settled. Nicole always made sure to swing by Shorty's after her shift. Even if she spent less than five minutes there, Waverly always made sure to take her break the minute the cop walked through the door.

"What are you doing tonight?" Waverly asked on Christmas Eve. She and Nicole were spending Waverly's fifteen minute break in the back room, leaning against the wall.

"Probably eating leftovers and watching _It's A Wonderful Life_ ," Nicole said, shrugging.

"That's no way to spend Christmas! Come have dinner with me," Waverly said. "Well, Wynonna and me. Probably Dolls too."

"Sounds like a party," Nicole said, chuckling. "I'm in." Waverly grinned and brought her lips to Nicole's. For several seconds, the pair kissed, until Nicole slipped her tongue between Waverly's lips. Gasping for air, Waverly tugged Nicole closer, leaning back until she rested on the floor with Nicole on top of her. The pair couldn't get enough of each others lips, but there was still a gentle sense that caused Waverly to open her eyes and make sure that she wasn't simply imagining things. The two continued their heavy make-out session until Waverly's alarm sounded from her phone, signaling that her break was over. The two caught their breath, but didn't pull away from their position on the ground. Waverly looked up into Nicole's beautiful eyes and saw something in them that she'd never seen before and something told her it was reflected in her eyes as well.

"I-I'll see you tonight," Nicole stuttered out, giving Waverly one last kiss before sitting up and heading toward the door. Waverly sat up to and smiled at the retreating figure.

"Dinner is served at seven," she called. Nicole looked back and winked before exiting the back room. Waverly leaned against the wall, thinking back to the moment she looked into Nicole's eyes. She knew the feeling that she had inside her when she gazed into her girlfriend's eyes. She's never felt it before, but she knew exactly what it was. It scared her to death, but at the same time gave her joy. She only hoped Nicole felt the same way.

—

That night, Waverly was setting the table when the doorbell rang. She smiled, smoothed out her dress, and checked her teeth in the mirror before opening the door. Her smile faltered when she saw Dolls standing in the doorway in a suit and tie.

"Expecting someone else?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Waverly shook her head and smiled.

"Merry Christmas!" she exclaimed, moving to the side to allow Dolls to walk in. "Wynonna is upstairs, but she'll be down soon."

"I brought a bottle of wine," Dolls said, holding out a bottle that Waverly had failed to notice. "Where would you like me to put it?"

"How sweet! I'll pour some now," Waverly cheered, taking the bottle from Dolls' hands and bringing it into the kitchen to pour into glasses.

"Merry Christmas, Agent Dolls," Gus called from the kitchen. "Take a seat; dinner will be ready soon!"

Waverly brought over the glasses of wine and was about to take a sip when the doorbell rang once more. She quickly smoothed out her dress and fixed her hair before opening the door again. She grinned as she saw Nicole standing in the doorway, holding a tin of hot chocolate mix.

"Merry Christmas!" Nicole exclaimed, embracing Waverly.

"Merry Christmas to you too!" Waverly replied, pulling Nicole's body into hers.

"You look breathtaking," Nicole whispered, giving Waverly butterflies in her stomach.

"You look gorgeous," she replied.

Nicole really did. She was wearing a blue dress that reached down to her mid-thigh and was decorated with jewel patterns all over the front and sleeves. Her hair was curled and out of her usual braid. Waverly couldn't help but run her hand through Nicole's red hair, trailing down to the back of her neck. She gently pulled her closer and attached her lips to Nicole's, not caring who might be watching in the next room. The kiss was brief, but it still left Waverly breathless. The pair smiled before Nicole stepped into the house and handed Waverly the tin of hot chocolate mix.

"I figured after dinner we could all have hot chocolate; it was one of the traditions I used to do with my parents when I was little. It's still one of my favorites," Nicole admitted.

Waverly smiled and said, "I think it's a wonderful tradition." She took the tin into the kitchen and returned with two glasses of wine, one for her, one for Nicole.

"I probably shouldn't since I'm driving," Nicole said, pouting. "Gotta set a good example for the rest of Purgatory." Waverly looked toward Dolls and Gus, who were both talking adamantly about something, before pulling Nicole around the corner and into another room.

"Well," Waverly began nervously, "I was thinking that maybe you wanted to…or if you didn't want to, that's totally okay…I just thought…"

Nicole smiled and ran her hand down Waverly's arm.

"Are you asking me if I wanted to sleepover?" Nicole asked. Waverly gulped and nodded.

"If you don't want to, that's okay," Waverly said quickly. Nicole quieted her with a chaste kiss.

"I would love to," she said, smiling down at the brunette. The two shared yet another kiss before breaking apart upon hearing Wynonna clomp down the stairs in her heels.

"Where are the Christmas spirits?" Wynonna asked to no one in particular, chuckling slightly at her own joke.

"Dinner is served! Wynonna, bring the wine into the dining room, would you?" Gus called.

The five of them seated themselves at the small dining room table, Gus at the head with Wynonna and Dolls on her right-hand side and Waverly and Nicole on her left-hand side. For a while, there were no sounds other than the clink of forks and knives on plates and the occasional thud from a glass touching back down onto the table.

Nicole finally broke the silence and said, "this food is amazing. Thank you so much for inviting me over; this food is so much better than what I would've come up with!"

"My pleasure," Gus said proudly. "I'm glad you were able to join me and the girls tonight. Same to you, Dolls."

The rest of the meal passed by with polite conversation about their plans for tomorrow and the rest of the holiday. Waverly excused herself briefly to clear everyone's plates, only to fine Nicole standing up to help her. The pair carried the dishes into the kitchen and began washing them, Waverly scrubbing, Nicole drying.

'We make a great team," Nicole said, smiling at Waverly after they finished putting all the dishes away. Waverly smiled back and wrapped her arms around Nicole neck, Nicole's snaking her way around Waverly's waist.

"We really do," Waverly agreed, gazing into Nicole's eyes once more. Nicole leaned down and caught Waverly's lips in hers for a deep, passionate kiss. The two clung to each other, even after their lips broke apart.

"I guess we can get enough of each other tonight, can we?" Nicole asked, amused.

Someone cleared their throat, snapping the two girls out of their own private world. It was Dolls. Waverly quickly detached herself from Nicole's arms and faced him. Dolls eyes shifted back and forth between the two girls before saying, "Wynonna and I are going to leave now. Gus is getting ready to leave, too, before it gets too late."

"It's eight o'clock!" Waverly exclaimed. "And what do you mean, 'Wynonna and I are going to leave'. Where are you going?"

"I'm sleeping over at his place," Wynonna said, appearing next to Dolls, holding a duffle bag and her purse. "Don't worry; I'll be back in time to open presents tomorrow morning." Wynonna gave her little sister and kiss on the top of her head before leaving with Dolls. Gus followed soon after, giving Waverly another kiss as well.

"Merry Christmas, Waverly," she said as she walked outside. "And you too, Officer!"

"Well, that wasn't hard getting alone time with you," Nicole said as they collapsed onto the couch.

"D'you want to watch _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_?" Waverly asked, opening her laptop. Nicole grinned and nodded.

The two spent the rest of the night watching the movie and drinking hot chocolate that Nicole got up to make. Once the movie finished, they quietly sipped the last of their cocoa and told stories of Christmases they remembered from long ago. Finally, at around eleven o'clock, the two made their way upstairs to bed.

"I still want to take things slow," Waverly said cautiously. "But I really wanted to curl up in bed with you." She blushed, thinking how awkward that sounded, but Nicole smiled.

"I've wanted that too," she reassured.

The two stripped down to their underwear and climbed under the covers and blankets and snuggled up against one another. Soon, Nicole's front lay against Waverly's back, their bodies slightly curved. Nicole was happy to see that Waverly enjoyed it when Nicole ran her hand up and down Waverly's body, making her shiver, but not from the cold. The two fell asleep with their arms wrapped around one another, smiling contently at how happy they truly were that Christmas Eve.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Seven**

 **Author's Note: I'm back! This keeps happening but I am really going to try to keep updating this more. I really miss writing, plus now that** _ **Wynonna Earp**_ **is back on again, there is more inspiration to write! Thank you to everyone who has kept with this story and has been waiting for the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or the show,** _ **Wynonna Earp.**_ **All mistakes are mine!**

Waverly woke to a tiny beam of sunlight sneaking through the crack between her curtain and window. Yawning, she rolled over to her left side and immediately smiled when she saw the most beautiful woman in the world fast asleep next to her, her red hair slightly covering her face. Waverly smiled and gently brushed her girlfriend's hair to the side and planted a light kiss on her cheek.

"Nicole," Waverly whispered. Nicole opened her eyes to see her girlfriend staring at her and smiled.

"Morning, beautiful," the red-head said. "How long have you been up?"

"Not long," Waverly replied, scooting closer. "You know what today is?" Nicole thought about it, then grinned.

"Merry Christmas, Waves." Nicole reached over and laid a hand on Waverly's hip, gently pulling her closer. "I know there's no mistletoe, but may I still give you a kiss?" Waverly laughed.

"Why of course you may!" The two smiled and gazed into each other's eyes before slowly capturing the other's lips in theirs. Waverly's eyes fluttered closed as she felt Nicole's hands slide around her back and pull her flush against her. The two could not get enough of one another and were soon allowing their tongues to slip in. Nicole let out a shaky moan before shifting her weight to lay on top of Waverly, who smiled and tangled her fingers in her girlfriend's hair.

"Waverly, I'm home!"

The two quickly broke apart as they heard Wynonna shutting the front door. Waverly jumped out of bed, pulled on a robe and stuck her head out into the hall.

"We'll be right down!" she yelled down the stairs. Wynonna walked over to the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her sister.

" _We_?"

Waverly gulped, then nodded. "Yeah, Nicole stayed over."

"Okay, well I'm glad you had a friend to hang with on Christmas Eve," Wynonna said. Waverly rolled her eyes as her older sister walked away. "Come down soon though. I wanna eat!"

Ten minutes later, the three women were sitting in the family room grabbing their presents from under the tree. Nicole sat awkwardly holding a present from Wynonna. Waverly looked over and saw her girlfriend's unsure expression and scooted over to sit next to her on the sofa.

"Your presents are upstairs," she whispered to Nicole. The redhead smiled and planted a soft kiss on the brunette's forehead, Wynonna too focused on her presents to notice.

"Baby girl, you have quite good taste in clothing," Wynonna said, holding up the sweater she got from Waverly to admire it. Waverly beamed.

As the trio continued to open presents, things got more and more interesting. Nicole finally opened her gift, which turned out to be a water gun from Wynonna.

"Uh, Wynonna," Nicole began, trying not to laugh. "What is the story behind this?" Wynonna looked up and smiled.

"It's to help you catch the bad guys," she replied simply, turning back to the magazine she got from Nicole. Waverly burst into laughter, followed by Nicole.

"On that note," the redhead began, standing up to leave, "I am going to go upstairs and get dressed for the day. My shift starts in a few hours."

"I should probably head out myself," Wynonna said, stretching and pulling on her coat. "I have a meeting with Dolls that I am already late for."

"I'll see you for dinner, Wynonna!" Waverly called out as her older sister waved goodbye and walked out the front door. Waverly turned when she heard footsteps going up the stairs. Knowing it was her girlfriend, Waverly followed. When she entered her room, Waverly pulled on Nicole's hand. The two looked at each other and smiled before coming together for a kiss. Waverly melted into Nicole's embrace and locked her arms around the redhead's neck. The pair continued to kiss until Waverly broke off, remembering the gifts for Nicole.

"Wait, your gifts are up here!" Nicole chuckled as the brunette scampered over to her closet and grabbed two boxes from the top shelf, one large and the other quite tiny. "Open the big one first!"

Nicole took the large package from Waverly and ripped open the wrapping paper to reveal a big, white box. Taking the top off and uncovering the inside paper, Nicole saw the gift and laughed.

"Waverly, this is great," she said, grinning. She took the sweater out of the box and held it up against her front to show her girlfriend. Waverly beamed as she read the words, 'Police Navidad' emblazoned on the front of the Christmas sweater. Surrounding the words were alternating handcuffs and police cars knitted into the design.

"Now open this one," Waverly said softly, handing Nicole the small box that fit into her hand. Nicole gently unwrapped the box and opened it, revealing a silver bar necklace that had the words 'i love you' engraved in the metal. Nicole looked up at Waverly, who was desperately searching her girlfriend's face for a reaction. The redhead grabbed the back of the brunette's neck and pulled her into a searing kiss that left both of them breathless.

"I love you too, Waverly," Nicole whispered, breaking the kiss to look into her girlfriend's eyes. "I love you so much." The two went back in for another kiss, this time more desperate and lustful. Waverly reached forward and found the top button of Nicole's shirt and ripped it open. Nicole grinned, pulling Waverly's shirt over her head. Once both shirts were deposited onto the floor, Nicole bent down and hoisted the smaller girl up to carry her over to the bed. Waverly let out a squeak of surprise, only to wrap her legs around Nicole's waist and capturing her lips in yet another kiss. Making her way over to the bed, Nicole lay Waverly down and gently climbed on top of her, only to break the kiss and look at her girlfriend beneath her.

"Waves," Nicole gasped softly, "are you sure?" Waverly answered by kissing her girlfriend's lips, then looking into her eyes.

"I love you, Nicole. I'm sure," the brunette whispered. Nicole smiled and ducked her head to capture Waverly's lips in her own once more.

* * *

The couple lay on their backs, staring up at the ceiling as they caught their breath. Waverly smiled and turned to lay on Nicole's chest, her head settling just under the taller woman's chin.

"That was amazing," Waverly breathed. Nicole smiled and kissed the top of the brunette's head. Waverly closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of Nicole's perfume. "I feel as if that were my first time ever. No one has ever made me feel that good before—that special."

Nicole glanced down and pulled lightly on Waverly's chin, looking right into her eyes. "Waverly, you are _so_ special. You are perfect in every way and you deserve to be with someone who appreciates how incredible you are. And I promise that I will do just that if you let me because I love you." Waverly felt her eyes brimming with tears and stretched upward to give Nicole a chaste kiss on the lips. Nicole reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a small box that Waverly hadn't noticed before and put it in the smaller woman's hand. "I guess we were both thinking the same thing when we went Christmas shopping."

Waverly opened the box to reveal a gold bar necklace with the words 'i love you' engraved in the metal. Chuckling slightly, Waverly looked up at her girlfriend and captured her lips into yet another kiss. "Now we'll kinda match," she mumbled against the redhead's lips. Laughing, Nicole wrapped her arms around the smaller woman and kissed her back, thinking that this was the best Christmas she ever had.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

 **Author's Note: Let us all celebrate the fact that** _ **Wynonna Earp**_ **was renewed for a third season!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. All mistakes are mine. Enjoy!**

The rest of their winter break passed quickly by and soon enough, Nicole and Waverly were saying 'goodbye' to Wynonna and driving back to school. The start of the spring semester brought on new schedules for the couple, which caused there to be spans of several days without the pair seeing each other and only communicating with quick texts every few hours. After several weeks of barely seeing her girlfriend, Waverly decided that something had to change. She quickly texted her Nicole and asked if she could come over once her appointment with her advisor was over.

Just after nine o'clock that night, Nicole knocked lightly on Waverly's door, only to see it was already open. Pushing the door open wide, she gasped when she saw a small table covered with a tablecloth and two plates of spaghetti. Waverly stood behind the table in a short, black dress that flowed out just above the knee.

"Waves," Nicole began, but was stopped when Waverly scooted around the table and gave her girlfriend a peck on the cheek.

"Surprise! I know that we've both been busy with classes, but I feel like we barely even see each other anymore. I figured we deserved to have a date night and just relax," Waverly said, pulling the redhead closer by her waist. Nicole bit her lip and looked down.

"I don't know, Waves, I'm really tired." Waverly stepped back, fear rushing over her like water.

"I-I thought that it would be a nice thing to do," Waverly stammered, twisting her hands together as she tried not to show how crestfallen she really felt.

"I don't know, I kinda want to just go back to my room and sleep," Nicole said quietly.

The brunette's heart sank. "I don't understand," Waverly whispered. "Did I do something wrong?" Nicole shook her head, not looking Waverly in the eye.

"No, I just feel kinda crappy right now and want to go lie down in my room." Nicole softly kissed her girlfriend on the top of her head before silently backing out of the room and walking away. Waverly's eyes began to water as she put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sob that tried to escape. She moved over to curl up in her bed, wrapping one of her many blankets around herself and began to cry. _What just happened,_ she thought. _Why is Nicole acting like this?_

Waverly didn't mean to fall asleep, but after spending nearly two hours letting her tears stream down her cheeks, she couldn't help but feel exhausted. She would've slept for a very long time if it wasn't for the knock on her door at 3 o'clock in the morning that caused the brunette to sit bolt upright in bed. When the knock came again, she shuffled over to the door, still wrapped in the blanket, to look through the peephole at her unexpected guest. It was Nicole.

Waverly bit her lip, contemplating whether or not to let the redhead inside. As awful as she felt, she needed to know what was going on with her girlfriend. She reached out and pulled the door open to reveal a slightly disheveled Nicole with obvious tear tracks running down her face.

"Waverly, I'm so sorry," Nicole said, eyes filling with fresh tears. "I should never have acted like that and I'm so sorry." Waverly motioned for the taller woman to come inside. Once the redhead was sitting on her bed, Waverly spoke.

"Nicole, what happened? I mean, I know that we haven't been seeing each other much lately, but something must have happened! I thought that it would be nice to spend more time together, but that seemed like the last thing you wanted to do."

Nicole bit her lip and looked down into her lap. "Iamnotabletograduate," Nicole mumbled inaudibly.

"What?" Waverly asked.

Nicole took a deep breath. "I'm not graduating this spring like I thought." Waverly's glare softened as she looked into her girlfriend's downcast eyes.

"Oh, baby, what happened?" Waverly whispered, moving to sit next to Nicole on the bed. Reaching out slightly, the brunette pushed a few ginger locks away from her girlfriend's face. Nicole sniffled and leaned into Waverly's hand.

"I had to meet with my stupid advisor today to talk about the plans for the rest of the semester and how it would fit into the timeline before graduation. Everything was fitting perfectly and it looked like it was going to work, but then he noticed that I hadn't taken this one class that had been required for my major. Except I had taken it, at my old school. When I transferred, he told me all of my credit would transfer too, but he never realized this one class wouldn't. And now it's too late to get into the class, so I'll have to wait until next semester." Nicole let out a heavy sigh before covering her face in her hands.

Waverly pulled her girlfriend's head to her chest and held her as she cried. She hated seeing Nicole so upset, even if she was rightfully able to be upset over the negligent advisor. "Hey, it'll be okay. It'll just be a few more months of school," Waverly said. "And remember, I'll be here too!"

Nicole sat up and looked at her girlfriend. "I love you so much, Waverly. I'm so sorry that I was upset earlier. I know you had planned a big surprise to be nice and I totally ruined it," she said, glancing at the table that still had food on top. "How can I make it up to you?"

Waverly gave her girlfriend a smile and pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you, too. We'll go on a date this weekend, how's that?" Nicole smiled back and kissed her again. As she moved to get up, Waverly grabbed her wrist. "Stay?" The redhead pulled the brunette in for one last kiss before the couple snuggled up under the covers and fell fast asleep in each other's arms.

One week later, Nicole was laying in Waverly's bed, a book propped open on the pillow, waiting for Waverly to return from her advisor meeting. Just as the redhead was finishing the last page of the reading, Waverly barged into the room and flung herself into her girlfriend's arms. Frightened, Nicole cupped Waverly's cheeks, only to find there were no tears to be found.

"Waverly, what happened? Are you okay?" the redhead asked.

Waverly smiled and kissed her girlfriend smack on the lips before engulfing her into a ginormous bear hung. "I have enough credits to graduate a semester early! We're going to graduate together!" Waverly whispered in the redhead's ear.

Nicole's eyes widened as she looked down at her girlfriend. "Are you serious?" After getting confirmation, Nicole laughed and scooped Waverly up, twirling her around the room. "Baby, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you!" Nicole brought her lips to Waverly's for what she thought was going to be a quick kiss, but soon turned into a passionate make out session that left Nicole breathless. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

Waverly giggled and pressed another kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "Nope," she joked.

Nicole laughed and kissed her one more time. "Well, Waverly Earp, I love you."


End file.
